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| Staff Writer |
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Appel Au Maitre Svealandlopning (2021) winner Hotline Bling and the EBF Novice Stakes Caio Shark will be making their Meydan debut in January during the DWCC for Norway-based Brazilian trainer Freire.
In this interview with Ten Furlongs, the successfully rising young trainer shares the most exciting race days he experienced in 2021 and critically examines his horses and his plans for them
Q: Please tell us more about your plans for Valstad Stables -owned 3YO, Hotline Bling, and Caio Shark at Meydan?
A: The plan is to race both Hotline Bling and Caio Shark at Meydan. Hotline Bling’s first race will be on 14th January, on the Jumeirah Classic Trial and the plan for Caio Shark is to run the Jumeirah Derby Trial on the 21st January. And then Hotline and Caio respectively will run the Jumeirah Classic and the Jumeirah Derby, depending on how everything goes. The plan is to race them only in Meydan.
Q: Please tell us more about the horses?
A: The horses arrived in Dubai on the December19 (2022), they have taken the trip well and have started training in the best possible way, I’m delighted about how things went. Hotline Bling has been impeccable for me this season, he won two of the biggest 2YO races in Scandinavia and finished 2nd in the Norwegian Criterium. He’s a very honest horse, that always gives it all in the races, we are aware of how tough the competition is over here, but we are looking extremely forward to seeing what he can do at Meydan, hope he makes us proud.
We bought Caio Shark from Aguiar Bloodstock/Amo Racing at the end of October for Atle Walgren, he won a race over 7f at Haydock, and finished 2nd in a very tough race at York on his first time stepping up to a mile (which I assume to be the shortest distance he can go), he’s a very interesting prospect and I see him as a strong contender for the Norwegian Derby 2022, he gives me the feeling of being a horse that has developed a lot throughout his 2YO season and I am pretty sure there’s plenty of room for improvement, also a very interesting horse to have over here at Meydan.
Q: You are one of three Norwegian trainers to have horses coming to the region this year. How did you decide to race your horses here?
A: There have actually been a few more Norwegian licensed trainers coming over here, if I’m not mistaken Eva Sundbye was the first woman trainer to ever win a race in Dubai. Rune Haugen is another Norwegian trainer that has also run horses (and won) over here. This year we’re three, Niels Petersen (who’s a big reference to me when it comes to racing at Meydan), Cathrine Erichsen, and myself. I find it both challenging and exciting, it’s only my third year as a licensed racehorse trainer and to be able to bring my horses to Meydan and compete at this level, is surely a dream come true.
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Q: What are your plans for these horses in 2022 for the rest of the year?
A: Well, they both turn 3YO in 2022 so the classic races in Norway will for sure be our target, Caio and Hotline are for sure going to run on the 2000 Guineas at home and Caio will also go the Norwegian Derby. The Derby distance would be too far for Hotline, so we will access each race at a time, and make the plan as it goes.
Q: What was your most exciting 2021 win? And why? Please tell us about your all-time favorite horse and why is he/ favorite?
A: Winning both the Breeders Juvenile with Semper Fi and the Svealandlöpning with Hotline Bling in Sweden with a week in between was for sure the best week I have had in racing so far, I still hadn’t landed from winning my first big race with Semper Fi, and to have Hotline delivering it one week later in the Stockholm Cup day which is one of the most important days in the Swedish calendar, for sure got me feeling on top of the world.
I was born into the horse racing sport, both my mother and father sides of the family are involved with racehorses and I grew up in the Hipódromo da Gávea (main track in Brazil), so I’ve seen and bonded with many horses throughout this time.
I try to not pick favorites and to treat every horse very fairly, but if I had to pick one Hotline Bling is the one I bond the most with, he’s got a strong personality and we know each other very well.
Q: When are you expected to join the horses here?
A: I have been here since 20/12, a day after my horses arrived. I’ve been getting a lot of help from Manuel Martinez who has joined me here and will ride Hotline Bling in the races. I’ve got great people in the yard home in Norway, doing a great job, keeping it properly, and keeping me posted.
Q: Who inspires you and where do you hope to see yourself and your stables in 10 years?
A: Well, when it comes to horse racing there are plenty of people that I look up to and have as a role models. I have a father who is still an active trainer and two uncles that are also training, all of them at home in Brazil and I obviously learned a lot from them, but I shaped myself and my way of training as well when I came to Europe, as things are done a bit differently than back home in Brazil.
The person I look up to the most in the racing industry is bloodstock agent Robson Aguiar of Aguiar Bloodstock who’s a true horseman that has an eye like no one else for a racehorse. I think what makes me look up to him the most is the fact that he has had a fair bit of success in a very competitive market starting it all from scratch and nothing but his talent got him where he is, it makes a young trainer like myself believe that I can also get there and achieve what I’m set out for.
Where do I see myself in 10 years is a tricky question (hehe), I like to take it day by day, but all I hope is that I have many good horses in training and to make more regular visits to the UAE.